Tuesday: 11 Iraqis Killed, 29 Wounded

A partial but controversial ballot recount ordered for Baghdad province is
raising concerns over election manipulation and pushing Iraq towards instability
at a time when politicians should be creating the next government. At least
11 Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded in violence across Iraq.
Also, a third high-ranking al-Qaeda leader was killed during a raid this morning
in northern Iraq.

Iraqiya party head, Ayad Allawi, complained
publicly that the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) was
pressured by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government to recount ballots in
Baghdad province while ignoring his requests to look into voter fraud
elsewhere. Allawi asks for "strict international monitoring" during
the recount. Iraqiya won two more seats than Maliki’s State of Law party.

A Sadrist member of parliament, Bahaa al-Araji, reassured the public that the
vote recount should not change the outcome of the election. He also said that the Iraqi National
Alliance (INA) could change their support to the Iraqiya party if talks
with State of Law fail. Meanwhile, Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemicalled
the recount a political move and outright questioned it. Although now limited
to Baghdad province, the recount could spread to other districts as the Iraqi
courts look into other
claims.

A suspected al-Qaeda
leader was killed during a joint raid in Ninewah province. The man
is believed to be Ahmed al-Obeidi, who ran al-Qaeda in Iraq‘s operations
Ninewah, Kirkuk and Salah ad-Din provinces.